Connecting civilisations through dance and vedas
Modernism would be inconceivable without the interplay of inspiration and cultural fusion, a global groove of dance and performance.
From a very young age, Sohini Roychowdhury was enthusiastic about music, dance and stories of European cultures to fuse with her Bharatanatyam repertoire and Indian mythology. This intersection was precisely where the avant-garde found its starting point in nuance from Tanjore and a different song.
The 'Sohinimoksha Dance Opera' enables to sensorially experience how artistic globalisation processes and transcultural thinking have invariably been the norm of Sohini's global groove. Brimming with compelling stories and poetry, 'Sohinimoksha Dance Operas' are magical encounters between the ancient heritage and Western avant-gardes. The idea of transnational exchange is neither imaginable without the curiosity about the sacred stories from the Vedas and the Puranas nor without the longing of the West for an understanding of the Natyasastra.
Sohini effectively encapsulates this movement of connecting civilisations and 'Understanding India' through her revolutionary dance performances and masterclasses. She combines the humanism of Tagore with the philosophy of Shiva speaks and Shaktism; the Vishnu Puranas in the true spirit of India; its philosophy and varied hues.
Having performed at a score of Austrian schools and colleges and telling the story of India through Bharatanatyam, Sohini brings her message of healing and hope to Scotland with open classes of dance at the Botanical gardens of St. Andrews, where the city danced to Vedic chants to herald spring and new beginnings after two years of being locked in. Her students here are of all ages, as Sohini believes, "If the soul dances, the body dances too."
Amidst nature, in the botanical gardens in a stretch tent, the classroom celebrates the spirit of Gurudev. Sohini performed Tagore's poems from the 'Gitanjali' along with acoustic guitar played by her son Rishi Dasgupta at the Consulate General of Scotland in Edinburgh to a packed audience who applauded a scintillating performance of 'Gitanjali and Guitar Strings.'
Sohini will perform at the iconic Byre theatre in Scotland with some artistes from her Spanish troupe on June 24, further cementing the connection between Tagore and Scottish national poet Robert Burns.
The indelible link with the world cultures through the Vedas, our mythology, ancient sculptures and sacred spaces will be encapsulated in Sohini's stylised dance operas to connect civilisations, the core mantra being 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', that is 'India'.
